Inyō Gogyō
Inyō Gogyō (陰陽五行, Yin–Yang, Five Flows) is a discipline involving the use of and its interaction with the natural and spiritual energies that pervade the world. The fundamental workings of the style involve using one's chakra network as an anchor between the energy that pervades within the classic five elements: , , , and . It is the understanding and manipulation of this interaction between the ever-flowing spiritual and natural energy of the world that enables Inyō Gogyō to be used as a discipline equal to the likes of or . Description Inyō Gogyō works under the basis that the practitioner comprehends the nature of the "World's Flow" (界流, Kairyū): the flow of the energy that gives bountiful life to the world. The World's Flow is described as the transition between natural to spiritual and spiritual to natural energy by means of the five classical elements all matter draws their basis from: , , , and . In this sense, Inyō Gogyō boils down to the eventual transfer and transformation of all energy in the world. In its purest sense, Inyō Gogyō is incredibly impractical in a combative sense, due to the natural world being out of reach for the scale of ordinary humans. As a result, Inyō Gogyō was developed over a long period of time as a form of divination, where individuals who understood the natural state of the world could predict things such as the weather and climate, in particular the tides and rainfall, which the people of old relied on to regulate the timing of their fishery and farming practices. Over time, the development of chakra would enable select individuals to interact with the environment at large and modify it to their will. However, to those that stayed within the discipline of Inyō Gogyō, they did the opposite. Rather than using chakra to merge the physical and spiritual energies within oneself to bolster their capabilities, they instead exert their chakra through towards either their limbs or a specific medium, before inverting that flow and using it to draw in the energy from a material substance in contact with them before using said raw energy to flourish another material substance. Due to chakra being able to coexist with natural and spiritual energy for a period of time without harmful consequences to the body, small scale energy transfers tend to be far more viable for any Inyō Gogyō practitioner. Subsequent integration of one's chakra into the newly flourished matter then enables remote manipulation on the small scale, thus becoming a viable combat form, although it is most often used for supplementary measures. Nevertheless, energy transference and transformations can only occur with select steps rather than a practitioner having infinite material to draw from at any time. After all, the classical elements exist in a cyclic pattern that keep energy flows stable, and this cycle includes "mutual generation" (相生, Aioi), where: wood feeds fire, fire creates earth (in the form of ashes), earth bears metal, metal enriches water (with nutrients), and water nourishes wood. An additional part of the cycle is "mutual overcoming" (相克, Sōkoku), where: wood (roots) part earth, earth dams water, water extinguishes fire, fire melts metal and metal chops wood. The most common application of this cycle for a practitioner is the use of mutual generation in order to alter the natural world temporarily for a wide variety of purposes, however, combatants rely upon mutual overcoming in order to bring their enemies to a swift defeat. Notably, this relationship does not exist in absolutes, for an overwhelming amount of any element can quickly turn the tides, thus boiling it down to a matter of numbers and a practitioner's individual power. While a practice that has gone nearly to extinction in recent years, select temples across the practice this form of combat and divination for the sake of their citizens, primarily due to existing in remote areas and lacking sufficient funds or communication to hire of their own. Applications Kōsen Harai (黄泉祓い, Yellow Spring Purification): Kekkai (結界, Bounded Field): Shikigami (式神, Ceremonial Gods): Trivia Category:Fighting Styles